New Years Resolutions

I was chatting with my sister Mollie yesterday about New Years Resolutions.  She, being the big sister, super-organized, out-going go-getter, has assembled a list of resolutions in each major category of her life, ranging from healthy, home-cooked meals to home organization to gym workouts. I, Captain Fly-by-the-Seat-of-My-Pants, signed up for a 10K.  HAH.  I've never run anything before in my life.  Ok, so one time I ran downstairs because I forgot about cookies in the oven.


As much as I may grumble over the next two months (which I will probably do a lot of), I am excited to have a goal to run toward.  [Sorry, that wasn't very punny]  By running slowly jogging this race, I will cross another item off my bucket list and hopefully improve my quality of life.  This will be a long road [Sorry again, I can't help myself]-- I can only make it about a third of the distance at this point without keeling over.  Fortunately HGTV and a great audio book keep me going at the gym.  In fact I have to keep exercising consistently or there is no way I will be able to run 10K in April.


Similarly, our spiritual journeys take time and persistence.  It cannot be done indifferently.  13th/14th century theologian and philosopher Meister Eckhart wrote, "There are plenty to follow our Lord half-way, but not the other half. They will give up possessions, friends and honors, but it touches them too closely to disown themselves."


What is your purpose in running?  How far are you willing to run?  At what cost?




Warning:  This is the first of barrage of running analogies...

All Saints Day

I have a stockpile of belated birthday cards that I routinely send out in lieu of actual birthday cards (for obvious reasons), so it should not be a surprise to me that I thought of this post October 31, and well, here we are, one month later.  (I actually wrote half of this post last week.  SIGH.  Now five weeks later...)

One month ago, it was All Saints Day.  As I child I never knew quite what to do with All Saints Day.  Was it the good version of Halloween?  Just for Catholics?  I was rather confused.  However it does coincide with my birthday, and I always thought that was pretty cool.

All Saints Day celebrates the lives of Christians, both past and present.  That day was also a Baptism Sunday.  During the baptism ceremony, the members of the church are asked to both prayer for and be involved in the upbringing of each child.  The loud chorus of "Yeses" struck me and I began to think about all the saints who have been pivotal in my life.

Some are people that I know well and some who know me well-- family members, youth group leaders, and Sunday school teachers.  The minister who baptized me as a baby also came to mind.  Dr. Long was the minister at our church from about the time I was born to early elementary school.  Though our families stayed in touch, I can only recall a couple of sermons he preached.  Even though he did not personally influence my faith, he did have tremendous impact on the people around me.  My parents came to a greater understanding of the Gospel and Scripture through an intensive Bible course Dr. Long taught.  His teaching was one way God allowed my parents to raise me in the church and teach me about the Lord from an early age.  He strongly impacted numerous teachers and leaders still present at that church today.

It started to make me think about my life and the impact I might have for Christ through others around me.  I'm not currently leading a girls' small group or mentoring any young people, but my life should nonetheless be focused outward.  What ways are you striving to grow a new generation?

Come People of the Risen King

This song has been stuck in my head all day. We sang it at church a couple of weeks ago, and then again today. Let me be the first to say we have one mad saxophonist in our congregation! Though a wee bit of me wishes it had been a melodica...

Money, moo-lah, dough, dinero, cash, greenbacks

I haven't written in a while, and now I have a bunch of things to post. So, one at a time! The following is a weekly letter from Rev. John Yates, pastor of my church (The Falls Church).

How can I learn to think like Jesus about my money?

I will see all I have and all I get as ultimately belonging to God. I see myself as responsible to use my money only as God would have me do. Before any purchase or expenditure I will ask, “Is this something that is pleasing to God?”

I will cultivate the habit of giving. I will organize my life and my finances so that I am giving to the church and to others in need, regularly and consistently and generously. I will aim to give away a tithe (10%) of all I get, and pray to give more.

I will think carefully and clearly about these things and make prayerful commitments that push me to give regularly, generously, proportionately, and sacrificially.

If my heart isn’t cheerful in this giving, if there is any begrudging in my spirit, I will ask God to show me the idolatry that is present in my life so that I can repent.

Wilderness Survival, Leather Working, or Coin Collecting?

My Sunday school class always makes me laugh. Favorite quote from this week? "Remember last week when you weren't here we talked about..." "Um no." However aside from being funny, it also never fails to challenge me.

We are currently plodding (this week we zoomed at warp speed through 3 verses) through James. In discussing faith vs. works, the passage compares faith with no works and faith only by works. Faith with no works and works alone are both lacking. They both have the same end result.

I generally put myself in the "faith with no works" category. I have PLENTY of head knowledge and can spew out more theology than many. However when confronted with works, I find myself not doing as much as I could. What I do do is not always driven by faith.

In the same way those actions and habits can make me feel good about myself. I start thinking about what I can do and how it makes me look rather than pointing to Christ. I start earning merit badges to become a legal scout.

James was written to Jews coming from a Pharisaical tradition. In an effort to separate themselves from their old life of checklists, they went to the other extreme and simply had faith alone.

Neither position is ideal, so where does the balance lie between the two?